Retort for the treatment of carbonaceous or other materials



May 22, 1923. 1,456,392

F. D. MARSHALL RBTORT FOR THE TREATMENT OF CARBONACEOUS OR OTHER MATERIALS Filed June 1. 1922 fY'H-f AL T FREDERICK BEACON MARSHALL, OF WESTMINSTER, LONDON, ENGLAND.

RETORT FOR THE TREATMENT OF CARBONACEOUS OR OTHER MATERIALS.

Application filed June 1, 1922. Serial No. 565,270.

To all whom'z't may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK DEACON MARSHALL, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at 19 Queen Annes Chamhers, Vestminster, in the county of London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in or Relating to Retorts for the Treatment Carbonaceous or Other Materials, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to retorts for drying, roasting, calcining or distilling carbonaceous or other materials of the kind in which baffles or internal shelves are provided for the purpose of lifting and showering the material under treatment so as to increase the surface exposed to the action of the hot gases passing through the retort.

According to one feature of the present invention a suitable number of de ending bafiies or internal shelves are provi ed and arranged around the interior of an inclined rotating cylinder or retort,one end. of each shelf being attached to the inner face of the retort and the other end projecting inwards towards the interior, each shelf being inclined or curved relatively to a radius of the retort chamber and the arrangement around the periphery of the retort chamber of the several shelves of each row being such that, in end view, they are disposed in a plane tangentially or approximately tangential to the circumference of the retort. Owing to the fact that the depending shelves or bafile's are arranged tangentially the material under treatment is lifted and showered in a more effective manner than heretofore and the efficiency of the retort is thereby enhanced owing to the increased surface exposed to the action of the hot gases, and the longer time the material is allowed to remain in contact with the heating gases. The

, shelves or bafiles may be of any suitable width and the surface of each shelf, which, if desired, may be perforated or constructed as a grid, may be suitably bent into sinuous or corrugated formation so as to form pockets which facilitate the collection of the material from the bottom of the retort, and also its elevation and deposition or showering upon the surface of the shelf immediately in advance of it at a point well beyond a vertical plane through the axis of the retort, thus carrying the material through and beyond the upper part of the retort chamber where the major portion of the hot gases travel. These pockets may be constituted by bending or curving each extremity of the shelf in the same direction, the part of the shelf between the curved ends being curved in the reverse direction to that of the ends thereof. To stabilize the depending shelves the ends of each section may be connected together or covered with plates. These plates form stifi'eneis and at the same time act as bafiles which serve to force the heating gas to the sides of the retort where it is most needed. Each set of baflles may comprise four depending and tangentially arranged shelves or plates of the character above described and they may be disposed in the same plane and at equal distances apart around the periphery of the retort, while any suitable number of such sets of shelves 'may be provided along the length of the retort, each set being spaced apart from the next set of the series and the several sets of shelves being preferably staggered or angularly displaced relatively to each other. The shelves instead of being attached in lines parallel to or in a direct line with the sides of the retort may be constructed to follow the curvature of the'sides of the retort so that taken as a whole the shelves form portions of a spiral thus imparting a twisting motion to the heating gases as well as showering the material in a more effective manner. Alternatively the shelves may be continuous, that it to say they may extend from end to end of the retort.

According to a further feature of the present invention means may be provided and disposed between each separate set of baflies'or internal shelves or at the inlet end of the retort for the purpose of acting as a further baffle forthe heating gases so as to impart a whirling movement thereto as the hot gases pass through the retort from end to end thereof. Said means may be constituted by a propeller or the like of an suitable shape or configuration which will serve to break u the direct stream of heating gases and impart a whirling motion thereto before the gases pass through the retort. An additional propeller or the like may also be disposed at the entrance to the retort chamber so as to impart a whirling movement to the heating gases, which latter may be constituted by producer or water gas, before the gases pass through the first portion of the series. The propeller may, for example, be of the type which is constituted b a cone around which a number of spirally disposed vanes are secured, these vanes being themselves of cupped or curved formation, or by a plate from which the centre is partially cut away so as to leave arms or wings which are bent outwards from the plane of the plate and twisted or bent in a similar manner to the blades of a propeller so as also to impart a whirling movement to the heating gases. These propellers may be attached to the interior face of the retort by means of brackets, the arrangement being such as to leave sufficient space for the carbonaceous material under treatment to pass freely between the ropllers and the inner face of the inclined retort. By providing vanes or propellers as above described not. only is a whirling movement imparted to the heating gases, thereby increasing their efficiency in distributing heat to the material which is being showered or elevated by the shelves, but such vanes or propellers also serve to arrest and to deposit the dust which is travelling from end to end of the inclined retort.

In order that the said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect 'same will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawing which shows by way of example an inclined and rotary retort constructed according to the present invention and in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of one constructional form of the improved retort, and

Figure 2 is a Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section through the line 3-3 showing the showering effect produced by the bafiies on the material under treatment duging the rotation of the inclined retort, an

Figure 4 is a section through the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a section of a modified form of shelves in which the ends of the bellies are connected together, each cup or pocket of the element being completely, enclosed so that the material does not leave the pocket until it reaches the discharge end of the element, i. e., the material is gently turned over and over again in the same pocket and gradually makes its way towards the inlet end of the retort or the discharge side of the element owing to the rotation and inclination of the retort. These pockets may be in the form of a spiral running the whole length of the retort or they may be divided up into spiral sections or elements as is the case with the arrangement shown at Figures 1 to 4 so that the progress of the heating gases will be arrested in its course through the elements and thereby brought into more intimate contact with the material undergoing treatment in the pockets.

section on the line 2-2 of Figure 6 is a longitudinal section of part of a modified form of retort constructed ac cording to the present invention, the left hand end of the retort being a section on the line 6, 6 of r'lgure 7 and the right hand end a section on the line 6-6 of Figure 8.

l 'igure 7 is a section through the line 7-7 of Figure 6 and Figure 8 is a section through the line 8-8 of Figure 6.

A is the outer shell of the inclined retort. B, B are the supporting and driving bands for the retort said bands running on rollers B B. C is a storage hopper for the carbonaceous material to be treated. I) is a device for feeding the carbonaceous material from the hopper C into the retort A, and which has a hollow interior D which serves as an outlet for the gases evolved during the distillation of the carbonaceous materials within the retort A. E is the inlet for the gases for-heating the material within the retort said gases being conveniently constituted by producer gas or water gas obtained from an adjacent producer (not shown). F is an opening in the retort through which the material is discharged. G, G (Figures 1 and 3) are the aforesaid depending bafiles around the interior of the retort, one end of each baiile being attached to the inner face of the re tort and the other end 9 projecting inwards towards the interior.. As shown, each shelf is corrugated or formed with pockets for the material under treatment and is inclined relatively to a radius of the retort chamber. In the modified arrangement shown at Figures 6 and 7 the inner end of each baffle G or internal shelf is attached to a plate which serves to stiffen the baflles and at the same time causes the hot gases to circulate around the periphery of the retort where .it comes into contact in a more advantageous manner With the material undergoing distillation. Alternatively and as shown at Figure 5 the outer ends may be embedded in the fireclaylining ot' the retort and their inner ends 9 connected together in such a manner that the baffle or shelf Gr forms a complete homogeneous section provided with. enclosed pockets within which the material is turned over and over in contact with the heating gases as it passes from end to end of the retort. H and I (Figures 1. 2 and 4) and J (Figures 7 and 8) are alternative forms of devices which may be provided for the purpose of acting as further baffles and at the same time imparting a whirling movement to the hot gases which pass from end to end of the retort. In Figure 1 the baffle H is con? stituted by a plate from which the centre portion b has been cut away so as to leave a number of arms or wings h. k which are bent out and twisted at h, [e in a similar manner to the blades of a propeller the plate H being attached to the periphery of the retort by angle irons ht, h A somewhat similar arrangement is shown at Figure 8 in connection with a retort which is lined with refractory material A the ends 9', j of the baflie being secured in place by be-. ing embedded within the refractory lining A The batlle I is constituted by a propeller of thetype which comprises a central conical oortion 2' around which a number of spiral y disposed vanes :1 i are arranged, these vanes i 71 being themselves of cupped formation and the propeller being secured in place on the retort by angle irons 2' 2' As shown in dotted lines at Figure 7 each set of bafiles GfG i's pre ferably staggered relatively to the other so as to present a star-like appearance-in end view. The material employed for the construction of the shelves, baflies or gas whirlers may be refractory fire clay, steel or iron, cast or wrought, according to the temperature employed in the retort.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A retort for drying, roasting, calcining or distilling carbonaceous or other materials, comprising a plurality of baflles or shelves disposed around the interior of the rotating cylinder or retort chamber, one end of said shelf being attached to the inner face of the retort chamber and the other end projecting inwards towards the interior, the arrangement around the periphery of the several shelves of each row being such that each shelf is disposed approximately along a chord of the retort chamber so as to deposit or shower the material raised by one shelf upon the surface of the shelf immediately in advance of it, at a point well beyond a vertical plane through the axis of the retort.

2. A gas retort of the class described, comprising a cylinder, aseries of longitudinally spaced bafiles secured to the interior of said cylinder, and means adjacent the inlet end of the cylinder, for imparting a whirling movement to the gas as it enters the cylinder.

3. A gas retort of the class described,

comprising a rotatable cylinder, a series of longitudinally spaced battles secured to the interior of said cylinder, and radially extending curved plates attached to the cylinder adjacent the inlet end thereby for imparting a whirling movement to the gas as it enters the cylinder.

4. A gas retort of the class described. comprising a .rotatable cylinder, a series of longitudinally spaced baflles secured to the interior .of said cylinder, and means in said cylinder for deflecting the gas toward the periphery of the cylinder.

5, A gas retort of the class described,

comprising a rotatable cylinder, a series of longitudinally spaced bafiles secured to the interior of said cylinder, and conical members having spirally disposed means attached to the interior of said cylinder in front of the inner baffles.

6. A gas retort of the class described, comprising a rotatable cylinder having a series of longitudinally spaced battles secured to the inner periphery thereof, and means in front of each of said series for imparting a whirling movement to the gas and deflecting it towards the periphery of the cylinder.

7 A gas retort of the class described, comprising a rotatable cylinder having a stepped series of longitudinally spaced baffles secured to the inner periphery thereof, and means in front of each of said series for imparting a whirling movement to the gas and deflecting it towards the periphery of the cylinder.

8, A gas retort of the class described, comprising a rotatable cylinder having a series of longitudinally spaced bafiies, the baffles of each of said series being so positioned around the periphery of the cylinder so that in an end view each of said ba-flles is disposed in a plane substantially tangential to the circumference of the cylinder.

9. A retort for drying, roasting, calcining or distilling carbonaceous material and the like, comprising a rotatable cylinder having a longitudinal series of sinuous bafiies secured to the inner periphery thereof, said series being stepped relative to one another, means disposed between the series of battles which act to deflect the gas towards the periphery of the cylinder and impart a whirling movement to the gas as it passes through the said cylinder.

10. A retort for drying, roasting, calcining or distilling carbonaceous or other materials in which baflles are provided for imparting a whirling movement to the hot gases said baflles being constituted by a plate from which the centre has been partially cut away so as to leave arms or wings which are bent or twisted'in a similar manner to the blades of a propeller.

11. A retort for drying, roasting, calcining or distilling carbonaceous or other materials in which a device is provided for imparting a whirling movement to the hot gases said device being constituted by a propeller of the type which comprises a cone around which a number of spirally disposed vanes are secured these vanes being preferably of cupped or curved formation.

12, A rotary and inclined internally heated retort for drying, roasting, calcining or distilling carbonaceous or other materials, comprising a cylinder containing a number of sections which are longitudinally spaced apart, each section being composed of a number of bafiles, one extremity of each balile being attached to the inner face of the retort chamber and the other extremity being left free and projecting inwards towards the center of the retort, together with a plate located at the end of each section which connects together the free extremities of the 10 Wards the periphery of the retort.

13. A gas retort of the class described comprising a rotatable cylinder having a number of longitudinally spaced sections each comprising a series of depending baffles, axially located cover plates positioned at the ends of the battles of each section, said cover plates acting as stiffeners and also as baffles which cause the heating gases to pass towards the periphery of the retort when entering the baflies of each section.

FREDERICK BEACON MARSHALL. 

